TOPIC:

My 1/5th is a scratch-build, using some parts from a shengqi hummer, made to look like an HPI Baja - chassis, wishbones, rollcage, body, radio deck, tank, driveshafts all home made, home-tuned engine & 1-off tuned home-made exhaust. It's putting out about 4hp! Unfortunately the extra power has made it really unreliable - it broke the STEEL gears in the gearbox last month & today it sheared a back axle (10mm hard steel). Planning to Ebay it as an 'ongoing project' because I can't find time to keep fixing it!

post some pics of it and if you are going to sell it put it in the trades section

Just posted some pics of it (& some others). Far be it from me to put off a potential buyer, but believe me you don't want to even consider buying it unless you have access to engineering facilities, as a lot of the parts are one-offs & would require a lathe & milling machine to reproduce. If you're thinking about buying a 1/5th car, I'd advise HPI's Baja 5B - it was well designed from the ground up & although it's expensive, you get what you pay for. FG's are poorly designed & overpriced. Shengqi/MCD/Duratrax are cheap copies of FG & are absolutely appauling, don't go there...

hobbyking did a copy of the hpi baja 5b. it's about $500 AUD instead $2000 for the original

Yes, Shengqi did too (Probably the same factory as HK). I haven't heard anything about these cheap copies yet, but if the other Shengqi's are anything to go by, I wouldn't be tempted. You have to remember that the plastic parts are made of brittle low quality plastic & the price of the spares isn't much cheaper than the HPI. However, the Chinese are pretty good at copying stuff & it wouldn't surprise me if the HPI bits would bolt straight on - you could buy a cheapy one & upgrade it with the HPI bits as you broke them (Obviously check it's possible first though!). I'm gonna go quiet on you now, I have to get to bed!

read the comments on the hk copy, and there were heaps saying you could use hpi parts on it, but there are heaps of upgrade parts on hk aswell

Well, like with all things like this I think you'd be wise to actually look at one in person, in a model shop or something, before parting with your had earned cash. When I originally bought my Shengqi hummer (Online, from Nitrotek.co.uk) it looked identical to an FG Marder, but the first time I ran it, it was immediately obvious it was nowhere near the quality of the proper thing. I definately wouldn't buy another one...

some comments on the hk 260s said it runs as well as the 5b

but for how long before it needs repairs, that's what you need to be thinking about, or else you'll end up spending out 3 times as much as the real thing for spare parts, with the added irritation of play time being cut short, or not being able to play when you want to! My shengqi broke rear ball joints & bent the front shock rods on 1st run, a front wishbone & shock tower brace on the 2nd, clutch fell apart on the 3rd (& whilst fixing it I discovered the primary gear had also come detatched), brakes fell apart on the 4th, fuel tank split & rear shock tower broke the first time I had it airborne, er, the 27am radio had all sorts of interference issues (Cos of spark ignition engine). All fixing was hampered by the fasteners being made of cheese or something equally soft, It was awful! It was the reason I stripped it to do the baja copy